


Tiny Dancer

by Crystara



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Baby Katsuki Yuuri, Ballet Dancer Katsuki Yuuri, Childhood, Fluff, Gen, Tiny bit of Angst, slight bullying
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-24
Updated: 2020-01-24
Packaged: 2021-02-27 07:20:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,916
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22393192
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Crystara/pseuds/Crystara
Summary: Minako-sensei and Yuuri - the early years.
Relationships: Katsuki Yuuri & Okukawa Minako
Comments: 21
Kudos: 72





	Tiny Dancer

Minako swept into the onsen carrying a bottle of sake and three huge bags. “Where are they,” she demanded as she strode towards Toshiya. She handed the sake over to him with a slight bow.

Toshiya took the sake from her with another graceful bow before stepping out from behind his counter and leading her back into the family space. There, bundled up on the cushions in their living room, Hiroko reclined with a small bundle in her arms. Her face was drawn, but her smile was as wide and welcoming as always as she greeted Minako. Minako sank down on a cushion next to her and peered down at the little package. She gasped when a little head turned her way and large eyes blinked up at her.

“Oh Hiroko, Toshiya, he’s precious,” she said. “I brought things from tour for him and for Mari-chan. Oh! And I just finished the renovations on that studio above the bar so I’ll be starting dance classes there shortly. I know you were looking for something for Mari-chan to burn off some energy.”

\------------------------

“Minako-senpai, we’re here!” Hiroko exclaimed as she came into the studio with Yuuri on her hip and Mari holding her hand. Mari reluctantly let go of her mother’s hand and walked over to join the group stretching near the barre.

Minako smiled and walked over to gather Yuuri up from Hiroko before going to the front of the studio and starting class with the tiny figure in her arms. His eyes tracked from her face to the small children in front of her and he buried his face in her shoulder. Minako kept holding him through the entire first part of the class, making him giggle when she suddenly whirled up onto her toes demonstrating the spin for her beginners. It was only when everyone moved to the barre and she had to make corrections that she surrendered him back to his mother.

\------------------------

Minako rested her head in her hand leaning against the table as she drank and watched the soccer game playing on the TV in the onsen lounge. Toshiya and his friends were cheering and dancing around the room, but she was quietly waiting for the game to end so that she could claim the TV for the start of the skating program. Yuuri was sitting next to her, calmly playing with some blocks and tuning out the ruckus around them.

One block toppled off the pile and rolled out of his reach. Minako watched as the little one struggled to reach his arms further and his little face puckered up in concentration. After struggling for several moments, she could see him start to put some pieces together as he put his hands down on the edge of the table and wiggled back and forth to gather his chubby legs under his diapered butt. He rocked back and forth a couple of times and then pushed up off the ground, holding the table edge and putting his feet firmly underneath him. Minako’s eyes widened as Yuuri stood for the first time and reached out to get his block. He was wobbly, but standing.

“Hiroko!! Toshiya!!” the excited woman called out, “He did it!”

Hiroko bustled out of the kitchen with her hands already over her mouth. She was smiling so widely, but a little tear shone in her eyes when she saw her baby supporting himself on the table. Toshiya wrapped his arm around his wife as the group watched Yuuri get his block. Even the customers in the room stopped celebrating long enough for the chubby hand to wrap around the block and drag it back. 

Then, just as suddenly as he’d stood, Yuuri plopped back down on his butt, looking startled at how fast the descent had happened. His chin wobbled, but before he could start to cry, Minako had him gathered up in her arms, snuggling him close. Hiroko dropped to her knees next to them and the two women cooed and praised the baby for how big and strong he was.

\------------------------

Mari shuffled into the class with a pout on her face. Hiroko followed slowly, bent over slightly to let Yuuri hold her finger as he toddled beside her. Minoko looked up and clasped her hands over her mouth at the sight of Yuuri’s stumbling steps.

Oh Hiroko, look at him,” she breathed out.

“Yeah, he’s getting into everything,” Mari muttered to the girl next to her at the barre.

“Brothers.” the girl grumbled back as they shared a moment of sibling camaraderie.

“Minako, watch this,” Hiroko said as she stood next to Yuuri and gently shook his hand free from her finger, “Yuuri, show Minako what you practiced with Mari today.”

Yuuri looked up to his mother and then over to Minako and Mari with his big eyes and took a tiny step back. 

“Go on, you can do it,” Hiroko encouraged. 

Yuuri stepped forward again and looking over to make sure Hiroko was watching him, raised both arms up over his head and rose up on his tiptoes, turning himself in a slow and wobbly, but very clear dance spin. Coming to stop facing Minako again, he very slowly and carefully shifted his weight to one foot and lifted the other in a tiny arabesque. 

Minako cheered, “Beautiful Yuu-kun!”

Yuuri looked up at her and stuck one finger in his mouth, chewing on it nervously as he peeked over at his sister. Mari sighed and stuck her arms out towards him. Yuuri toddled across the room and Mari gave him a hug and a pat on his head.

“Good boy, that was just as we practiced,” she said. Yuuri beamed.

\------------------------

Yuuri clung to his mom’s hand as he used his other hand to fiddle with the hem of his shirt as they walked over to the studio together.

“Are you excited to start classes today?” Hiroko asked. Yuuri hummed and nodded his head vigorously. He’d been asking for lessons with Minako almost as long as Mari had been begging to get out of them. Hiroko grinned down at the four-year-old bouncing along beside her.

As they entered the studio, Yuuri dropped his mother’s hand to run across the room to Minako. “Min-ko-sensei, lookit my tights!,” he cried out doing a little twirl in front of her. He pointed one foot in front of her, “And my shoes!”

“Very good Yuu-kun. You look just right for class,” she said reaching down to help tug the shirt down over his black tights. “Now go stand with Ami-chan and we’ll get started.” Yuuri nodded and looking over to the little girl in braids, walked over to stand next to her.

“Everyone. This is first position. Do your best!”

\------------------------

“Minako-senpai, I just don’t know what to do. Yuuri’s teacher called today to say he’d been hiding the closet at school today after lunch again. And I can tell he’s been crying. But he says nothing is wrong.”

“Oh Hiroko, let me see what I can find out after class today when Yuuri’s doing his extra stretching. You may want to check with Mari-chan also. You know she watches him very closely these days since that boy shoved him on the beach.”

“Thank you. I just want to know what is going on at school and to make sure he’s alright.”

That afternoon Yuuri arrived at class as promptly as ever and immediately began stretching. Minako watched him as she greeted the other seven year olds arriving and noticed that with each arrival, Yuuri would look up and then shrink back, making himself smaller and turning away from the others. Ami sat next to him, but the others seemed to leave more space than usual. Minako tightened her lips, but she had class to run and could only watch for now.

Throughout that day’s class Minako noticed that only Ami directly interacted with Yuuri. Everyone else either ignored him completely or shot dirty looks at him. By the end of class, Yuuri had moved himself all the way to the back corner and was dancing in his own world. Minako admired his form, noting that she needed to work on his turnout slightly and that she really did need to talk to Hiroko about putting him in the advanced class even though it would be early.

“Yuuri-kun,” Minako said as class packed up, “stay a moment will you? I need to talk with you.” She noted that Yuuri startled and that his forehead creased. She also noticed a bunch of heads turn away quickly and whispers start up as the rest of the class left. Minako decided that next class was going to concentrate on plies. Lots of plies. 

Once she was sure the last of the others was out of the studio, she turned to Yuuri with her hands on her hips. Yuuri stood, not quite looking at her and shifting his weight from foot to foot. Minako sighed, “Alright kiddo. What’s the story.”

Yuuri looked up and Minako’s heart broke to see the tears in his eyes. “Hiroshi-san says only girls do ballet and he said no one should hang out with me because I’m pretending to be a girl,” Yuuri choked out after a minute of sniffling and shaking his head. “I know that’s not true Minako-sensei, you showed us all those videos!” Yuuri continued, “But they keep shoving me a school and leaving notes in my cubby.” He ran over to his pack and pulled out a handful of notes with words like Fatty and Baby written on them to hand over to Minako.

“Oh Yuuri-kun, why didn’t you tell your mother about this?” Minako asked.

Yuuri sniffled again, “I didn’t want her to pull me from lessons and I thought if she knew they were teasing me at school she would.”

Minako chuckled, “Yuuri, I don’t think you have to worry about that, now let’s get you home and we’ll talk about what we’re going to do to handle this.” She reached out and rumpled the little boy’s hair. “Come on.”

Three days later, Minako-sensei led an intensive ballet workshop during gym at Yuuri’s school. Yuuri was the only one able to walk home that afternoon.

\------------------------

Minako tapped her lip as the children moved through the simple choreography for the upcoming recital. It was becoming increasingly clear that Yuuri was not only the best dancer in her young group, but he was also better than a number of her intermediates. But Minako knew his body was too young to move him to harder classes. 

She and Hiroko had a number of conversations about how they could encourage Yuuri without pushing him to injury. Minako had plans for Yuuri and they didn’t involve stress fractures at eight.

Minako looked out the studio window as Yuuko bounced down the stairs from the studio and hoisted her skate bag on her shoulder to head to her skating lesson after ballet. Minako’s eyes widened with a sudden thought, there was something new for Yuuri. And he already knew Yuuko from lessons. She knew Hiroko and Toshiyo would agree since they’d just been talking about finding more activities for him just last night.

Minako spun up onto her toes in glee. “Yuuri-kun! Come with me, I’ve got something fun for you to try.” 

The little boy with the big brown eyes looked up at his sensei and reached out to take her hand as they started to walk towards the ice rink.


End file.
